Byron and Larson to the NASCAR Final: Last Spots for the Title!

William Byron Clinches Championship 4 Spot with Martinsville Victory

In a race full of emotions and with a place in the Championship 4 at stake, William Byron took the victory at Martinsville Speedway, surpassing Ryan Blaney on the last lap of the third round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Byron made a bold move with 43 laps remaining, using the low side of the track in Turn 1 and shoving Blaney to take the lead. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led the rest of the race, fending off attacks from Blaney on a restart with 11 laps to go. Starting from the pole position, Byron dominated the race, leading 304 of the 500 laps, achieving his third victory of the season with the No. 24 Chevrolet.

I thought William had the race of his life.

Jeff Gordon

This victory marks the first in 11 races for Byron since August at Iowa Speedway, and his first in a playoff elimination race. Furthermore, it’s his third victory at Martinsville.

Damn, I have a lot to say. Things have a way of working out. God really tests your resilience many times. We have been tested. Simply incredible. We work very hard and give it our all on Sundays. Sometimes you get nothing in return. That’s how the last few weeks have been and, honestly, throughout the year. But sometimes life is like that. You have to remain resilient. We were. It feels very good.

William Byron

Blaney, also in the need to win to advance to the final round, finished second despite qualifying in the 31st position and leading 177 laps on the 0.526-mile oval. There were no hard feelings after the race, and Blaney congratulated Byron in Victory Lane.

The last contender for the NASCAR Cup title will be Kyle Larson, who advanced on points and will join Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Briscoe. Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, secured the final championship-eligible spot in the season finale, finishing fourth and edging out Christopher Bell by seven points. Bell, for his part, was satisfied with the results, acknowledging the legitimacy of the four contenders. Byron and Larson will face Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe in the final round on November 2 at Phoenix Raceway, where the championship will be decided by the best result among the four drivers. In addition to Bell and Blaney, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano were also eliminated from the playoffs. With Blaney and Logano out of the title race in Phoenix, Team Penske’s streak of three consecutive championships came to an end. Both Hamlin and Briscoe suffered engine failures during Sunday’s race. Hamlin, who opened the third round with a victory at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to advance to the title race, retired on lap 334 due to an engine problem. Briscoe finished last due to a power failure in his Toyota after 295 laps, but had already secured a place in the Championship 4 with his victory on October 19 at Talladega Superspeedway.